A Boulder District judge on Tuesday sentenced 73-year-old Ronald Turner to 27 years in prison for his role in the kidnapping of his grandson Luke in May 2013.

Judge Andrew Macdonald said Ronald Turner was at high risk to reoffend because he shows anti-social behavior.

"You take the law into your own hands," Macdonald said.

Macdonald also issued a permanent restraining order to keep Ronald Turner from having any contact with Luke Turner, his mother or his sister. Ronald Turner likely will serve 10 years of the sentence before he is eligible for parole, attorneys said.

Turner was convicted in April of helping his son, Monty Turner, kidnap then-3-year-old Luke Turner — Monty's son — from his mother's Longmont home on May 25, 2013. Monty Turner and the boy were found in Canada the next day, while Ronald Turner was arrested in Missouri that same evening.

Monty Turner, who pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, is scheduled to stand trial Nov. 3.

Timeline

May 25, 2013: Luke Turner, 3, is kidnapped from his mother's home on the 700 block of Eldora Place. Luke's father, Monty Turner, is suspected of breaking in to Brandy Turner's home, shocking her with a Taser and spraying her with pepper spray.

May 26, 2013: Monty Turner, 51, is arrested at the Casablanca Motor Lodge in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, on suspicion of kidnapping, burglary and assault after the FBI tracked his credit card use. Luke Turner is found safe. Ronald Turner is arrested in Vernon County, Missouri.

May 28, 2013: Brandy Turner and Luke are reunited in Minot, N.D.

June 8, 2013: Monty Turner tells a Canadian court that he wants to return to Colorado.

March 2014: Monty Turner changes his not-guilty plea to not guilty by reason of insanity. The decision delays Monty Turner's trial.

April 14, 2014: Jury selection begins in the trial of Ronald Turner.

April 25, 2014: The jury convicts Ronald Turner on 12 of 14 charges, including second-degree burglary, second-degree kidnapping and violating a protection order. He is acquitted of menacing and use of a stun gun.

"I'm not here to be vindictive. I'm seeking to forgive; I'm seeking to heal," she said.

"What I'm seeking is safety, at least a measure of safety," she continued. "I fear for my safety and the safety of my children if Mr. Turner is free."

After the hearing, Brandy Turner seemed somewhat relieved.

"Without a desire to be vindictive, I am pleased to have a measure of safety and a chance to raise my children in peace," she said. In addition to Luke, who is now 4, Brandy Turner has a teenage daughter.

Prosecutor Tim Johnson asked for a 39-year prison sentence, while defense attorney Scott McComas asked for probation. Ronald Turner had no criminal history before this incident.

Johnson said the sentence sends a strong message to the community that Turner's conduct will be treated seriously.

"We are very pleased with the sentence," Johnson said. He thanked Longmont police, as well as Missouri state troopers and police services in Canada for their work in finding Luke.

When Ronald Turner addressed the court, he discussed his experiences in the Boulder County Jail's transition program, and how he learned to take responsibility for his actions.

"I'm not going to have anything to do with Brandy, Luke or her daughter," Ronald Turner said. He did not apologize to Brandy Turner or to the court for what happened or for his role in it.

The May 2013 incident was not the first time Monty Turner took Luke from his mother, according to police and prosecutors. In July 2012, while Monty Turner and Brandy Turner were separated, Monty Turner did not return from a planned camping trip. Authorities searched for the pair, going so far as setting up surveillance cameras around Ronald Turner's property in Ault, Johnson said.

Luke was found and returned to his mother in March 2013, and she obtained full custody.

Ronald Turner did not cooperate with authorities during the months-long investigation, which showed "his delusional belief that what his son was doing was right," Johnson said. During his April trial, Ronald Turner was convicted of being an accessory to a crime in the first incident.

Even before authorities found Luke in March 2013, Monty and Ronald Turner were making plans for Monty Turner to take the child to Canada, Johnson said. When Brandy Turner received custody, the men began to put those plans into action, he said.

Between March 21, 2013, and May 25, 2013, "Ronald Turner took very deliberate steps to aid his son," including purchasing prepaid credit cards and a bicycle that was used in the kidnapping, Johnson said.

Ronald Turner and Monty Turner visited friends in Missouri who owned property "in the middle of nowhere" in Canada, Johnson said. Authorities believe Monty Turner was taking Luke there, where it would have been difficult for authorities to find them, the prosecutor said.

Monty Turner's reported use of a prepaid credit card and choice of motel in Canada gave law enforcement a lucky break in finding Luke Turner, Johnson said.

Had Monty Turner used the credit card at a chain motel instead of the Casablanca Motor Lodge in Brandon, Manitoba, officials would not have known exactly where he was before he and Luke moved on, Johnson said. Because there is only one Casablanca Motor Lodge in North America, however, they could determine where he was and which direction he was going.

Article Comments

We reserve the right to remove any comment that violates our ground rules, is spammy, NSFW, defamatory, rude, reckless to the community, etc.

We expect everyone to be respectful of other commenters. It's fine to have differences of opinion, but there's no need to act like a jerk.

Use your own words (don't copy and paste from elsewhere), be honest and don't pretend to be someone (or something) you're not.

Our commenting section is self-policing, so if you see a comment that violates our ground rules, flag it (mouse over to the far right of the commenter's name until you see the flag symbol and click that), then we'll review it.

The Boulder alt-country band gives its EPs names such as Death and Resurrection, and its songs bear the mark of hard truths and sin. But the punk energy behind the playing, and the sense that it's all in good fun, make it OK to dance to a song like "Death." Full Story